Summary of Scholastic Principles

Fr. Bernard Weullner, S. J. - PB 172 Pages

Many readers and students of philosophy are familiar with Fr. Weulner’s brilliant and most useful Dictionary of Scholastic Philosophy. Here is another essential work from the master teacher on the philosophic Principles.

Principles may well be regarded as the main part of philosophy. They are among the major discoveries of philosophy, condensing in themselves much philosophical inquiry and insight. They are the starting points of much philosophical discussion. They are the base for exposition, for proof, and for criticism. They serve the student and the reader of philosophy much as legal maxims serve jurists and as proverbs serve the people. They are for scholastic philosophers the household truths of their tradition.

All our masters of philosophy know these principles well. They use them as a constant set of convictions and as a standard setting on many sub­jects. Masters like Aristotle and St. Thomas incessantly weave these prin­ciples into their writings, and so much so, that familiarity with their principles becomes an indispensable preparation for any intelligent grasp of their works and for any genuine assent to their conclusions.